Zante petition to curb drunks

Liz Waugh: October 2011

Residents of the popular Zante holiday resort of Laganas have had enough of drunken Brits rampaging through their streets.

A protest petition is demanding that authorities clamp down on the annual summer holiday 'jungle' of drunken street parties.

They want an end to the delinquent behaviour of drink-addled youngsters benders that have given Laganas a reputation across Europe for drunken debauchery.

At a Laganas town hall meeting local people registered anger at the apparent inertia of island authorities in tackling the problem, particularly after the death of of a British youngster earlier this year.

Laganas authorities have so far refused to curb the practise of organised holiday bar crawls that result in street drunkenness and they have refused to implement a ban on loud music playing all night until the early hours.

A protester told the meeting: 'The main road is inaccessible during the evening hours, because whoever goes to there in danger of breaking the car and the beaten by hordes of drunken Brits.'

They now fear a backlash from responsible family holidaymakers who will turn away from Laganas because of its lawless reputation.

Many locals have now signed up to the protest petition which calls for action before the Zante holiday season in 2012.

A petition organiser said: ' We continue to collect signatures of residents of Laganas to request a change of situation by next summer. As is known, the area has been discredited worldwide since the young British make extravagant parties, which include heavy drinking and orgies.'